Illogical
by Ironically Yours
Summary: In which logic betrays Inui, and Kaidoh goes along for the ride. Inui/Kaidoh Written for Your October


**Title:** Illogical  
**Author:** Ironically Yours  
**Fandom/Pairing:** Prince of Tennis/ InuiXKaidoh  
**Rating:** T  
**Notes:** A fic I did for Your October, in exchange for a Golden Pair story. I really love this pairing though; I find the chemistry between them to be absolutely adorable. Please enjoy! And perhaps, when you come to the end, send me a review…? That would be much appreciated. And also, thanks to my `Kaa-oru for betaing.

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The first time Inui saw Kaidoh, there was no spark.

It was a brief, yet informative meeting, a typical first day of the year in the tennis club. Glancing over the prospective competition for the regular spots, he spotted a young first year that stood out from the others… A head of dark, silky locks and almond eyes bright with guarded emotions… curved cheeks tinted pink from exertion… but the first sighting was hardly spark-worthy, there was definitely no spark.

And he never dreamed there would be. Sparks were, in his opinion, only caused by friction between waves of hormonal outbursts. They had more to do with lust than actual love. Love was, after all, but a chemical imbalance found in the human species which enabled the process of reproduction to run more effectively. Love was for naïve fools.

And yet, Inui often found (much to his dismay) his thoughts wandering into realms that could only contradict the logic of such an emotion. To be entirely truthful, he had a bit of a romantic streak… One that boarder lined hopeless. Despite its sheer lack of scientific evidence and questionable applications beyond the continuation of an already over-populated population, the idea of love was strangely appealing.

Of course, he refused to allow himself to be ruled by something as insignificant as hormones; he would not stoop to the level of his fellow classmates. The way they drooled after the objects of their pitiful affection, forgetting all important matters at hand, blushing and acting all around peculiar…

No, the first time Inui saw Kaidoh, there was no spark.

The warming sensation in his stomach was only indigestion; perhaps he should have worked out a plan to cut back his intake of acidic nutrients.

And the passing thought that Kaidoh's face reminded him of the paintings of angels done by the masters of old.... that was only for the sake of the club's research.

Though it never did find its way into the notebook.

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The second time Inui saw Kaidoh, he really saw Kaidoh.

It had been a rainy day and, has he had predicted in first period, practice that afternoon was canceled. He himself, as a regular, could not afford to miss a full day's worth of practice, and decided to run twice his usual length to accommodate. This meant that he was running an unfamiliar course, but it was a sacrifice worth making.

He had been mid way through his doubled regiment when a small sob distracted him from his training and brought him into the bushes on the side of the road. A small body on the cusp of a growth spurt lay curled there, its lanky arms wrapped tight around a small kitten. The nest of black curls was too familiar…

Tear filled eyes glanced defensively up, daring the elder to rip the animal from his grasp. The stillness of the small grey kitten made the issue at hand quite evident. Kaidoh looked very… worn out. His hands and knees were scraped up and coated in mud and grim, as if he had spent all of the afternoon beneath the very same bushes. His cries seemed to fade off as he turned his gaze from Inui to the ground. A pink tinge blossomed across the young snake's face, and Inui felt his palms begin to itch and sweat.

Surely, Inui had just discovered he had an allergy to cat hair… That could be the only explanation for the phenomena. And seeing Kaidoh's tears, that… the only reason he felt anything… he only wanted to comfort a fellow team mate, there was nothing more to it.

"It's not fair." A soft voice whispered. The chill that ran down Inui's back was due only to the weather.

Kneeling down next to the younger boy, Inui sighed. "Most things aren't…"

The tingling in the air was but the surrounding bushes taking carbon dioxide and converting it into breathable oxygen… It had _nothing_ to do with Kaidoh's hesitant smile.

_Nothing at all.  
_

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The third time Inui saw Kaidoh, Kaidoh looked back.

It had been months since Inui had really seen the teen, the regulars practiced apart from the rest of the club. It seemed that growth spurt had finally set in. An air of silent rebellion had overcome him and yet, Kaidoh's long, willowy body still retained a sweet innocence, a coy promise of years to come…

No, Inui couldn't have been thinking that, no, his day had been far too… terrible for such ideas. His spot as a regular- gone, stolen by a cocky first year. His logic- defeated. What was left? That was all he had! Inui knew he didn't have the same innate talent as Tezuka, or Fuji or even the new first-year regular… But he had his brain, and it had never failed him in the past…

Of course, he was not touched at all when Kaidoh came and sat next to him, far from the celebrations that he rightly could take part in. His heart was still racing from his last match, it was in no way connected to feel of Kaidoh's arm against his, or the sounds of his steady breathing near his ear.

Somehow, the silence between the two was…. Comforting. Though only because it allowed Inui to rest properly.

"It's not fair…" Inui found the courage to break the solemn quiet, though the intent behind such a statement was unknown.

His tossed aside notebook was pressed into his hands with a frown. Inui half expected Kaidoh to scold him, with the heated glare he was receiving. But no, the younger teen, simply stood up and began walking away.

"Most things aren't…" the familiar soft voice replied, though deeper and rougher than before. "That's life."

When Kaidoh turned and looked back, there was no spark between them.

No, that static that zipped through the air was only caused by the two magnetic poles rubbing against each other, spurring on a freak wave of inert electricity to overwhelm only the immediate area…

Even Inui was growing tired of the excuses.

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By the time Inui lost count of his Kaidoh sightings, he had given up all together. There was nothing logical about denial.

Perhaps, he conceded, there was indeed a science to this whole affair. If there was, he intended to discover it.

Besides, the long jogs were not nessicarily for training alone. The reason they took the long route to and from school… it was not really because they had eaten too much. When Inui visited Kaidoh's house, it was not because the younger teen need help on his homework. All the time the pair spent together, it had less to do with doubles bonding than anything else.

Inui had quickly diagnosed himself with what he could only call K.I.S.- Kaidoh Infatuation Syndrome. There was no cure. The only means of easing the symptoms? Seeing that coy yet grumpy smile each morning… sharing his bento each afternoon, laughing at the blush on Kaidoh's face at the sight of the heart shaped rice balls… Feeling a warm hand in his as they walked home… having that body moving beneath him as they expressed something words couldn't, twisted up and tangled between each other, slipping over the edge…

There was no spark. No, it was more like a lightning bolt that struck Inui whenever Kaidoh was near.

If love was illogical, then he'd play the fool any day.

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End file.
